Falling wholesale onion prices yet to reflect on retail mkts

Published: Sunday, January 16, 2011, 18:00 [IST]

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New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) Retail prices of onions continuedto remain high at Rs 50-60/kg in the national capital today,despite a fall of up to Rs 12/kg in wholesale rates of thevegetable over the past two days here.

Onions continued to remain costly in other metros too atRs 50-65/kg, while the vegetable sold at Rs 65/kg in Mumbai.

It was available at Rs 55-60/kg in Kolkata, traders said.

Majority of retail outlets were closed in Chennai todayon account of Pongal festival, reports from the Centre said.

According to the government data, the onion retail rateswere ruling in the range of Rs 21-26/kg in metros in the sameperiod of last year.

Azadpur mandi, Asia''s biggest fruits and vegetablemarket, remained closed on Sunday. There was no wholesaletrading of onions in the national capital today.

The wholesale price of onions had witnessed a decliningtrend at Azadpur mandi for the last two days up to Rs 15/kg.

The wholesale rate which had peaked to Rs 50/kg on January 13and fell to Rs 38/kg on January 15.

But this is yet to assert any impact on the retail marketin the national capital, where the prices of the rootvegetable still continued to remain skyhigh.

Tomato and Onion Merchants Association General SecretaryRajendra Sharma told PTI that the wholesale rate is expectedto show a further slide in the coming days due to a likelyincrease in supply of the vegetable from feeder stateMaharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

After Lohri festival, the supply of onions would furtherboost in Delhi with the arrival of 200 tonnes of vegetableimported by the state-run agencies PEC and STC from Pakistan,which landed at Mudra Port in Gujarat, last week.

According to government sources, the imported onions arelikely to reach Delhi on Tuesday.

Agri-cooperative NAFED''s mobile vans selling onions at Rs35/kg in Delhi kept off the duty today on account of Sunday.

Its five outlets also selling onion at the same rate sinceDecember 21, when the price of the veggies shot up to Rs 70-85/kg, also remained shut, sources in NAFED said.